Curriculum Connections

The Strategy Spotlight highlights one effective instructional strategy each month that supports learning across grade levels and subject areas. These strategies reflect strong teaching practices that help students succeed in all classrooms. Focusing on a shared strategy each month promotes consistency, strengthens learning, and supports our district’s commitment to high-quality instruction for every student.

Once a Duke, Always a Duke!

Vocabulary is a key determinant of reading comprehension, as students cannot understand text beyond the words they know. The science of reading shows that while decoding enables students to read words accurately, vocabulary knowledge is what allows them to make meaning from text. Vocabulary grows most effectively through explicit instruction, repeated exposure in meaningful contexts, and opportunities to use words through speaking, reading, and writing. Because vocabulary development is cumulative, intentional instruction across all grades and content areas is essential to support comprehension of increasingly complex texts.

Our teachers have been trained in the Science of Reading, a research-based approach to teaching students how to read. Many of our teachers have also completed LETRS—Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling—a comprehensive professional learning program focused on building strong literacy instruction. Through this training, teachers learn practical, classroom-ready strategies that support students’ language and reading development. One such strategy is the Instructional Routine for Introducing a New Vocabulary Word, which helps students understand, use, and remember new words. (Click on the Link to see the routine.)

1. Word-of-the-Day Conversations (All Grades)

Choose one interesting word each day (from a book, school assignment, news article, or conversation).

How to do it:

• Say the word and talk about what it means.

• Use it in a sentence together.

• Ask your child to use the word later in the day.

Grade adjustments:

• K–2: Use pictures, act out the word, or connect it to something familiar.

• 3–5: Discuss synonyms, antonyms, and examples/non-examples.

• 6–12: Ask how the word might be used differently in science, social studies, or math.

2. Read, Stop, and Talk (All Grades)

When reading together or independently, pause to talk about unfamiliar or interesting words.

How to do it:

• Ask, “What do you think this word means?”

• Give a simple, clear definition and restate the sentence using the word.

Grade adjustments:

• K–2: Focus on everyday words and repeated exposure.

• 3–5: Encourage students to explain the word in their own words.

• 6–12: Discuss how the word contributes to the meaning or tone of the text.

Stephanie Glasure

Director of Curriculum and Special Projects

sglasure@wellingtonvillageschools.org

440-647-7486